Class blog for Anth 249: Evolution and human disease. We will be responding to class readings and engaging with the wider network of blogs and online content on evolutionary medicine. We might also make up some fun projects along the way.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I have to agree with Raia in that the paper Dr. Edna Amparo Viruell-Fuentes wrote
about U.S Mexican Immigrants was a really interesting read. It is interesting to
see the encounters of immigrants and how the impact of such “othering” encounters
can have on someone. I to have had such encounters but I never really knew the
toll it can take on someone. I also agree with Raia that the encounters of men with
their “othering” experiences would have been a very interesting aspect that was
missing in the article; to see how things compare or contrast. Although, there
is something I did not agree with, which was the fact the first generation
immigrants did not really try to get out of their comfort zone. I think that
there are immigrants who have no choice but to get out of their comfort zone because
they can have no connections whatsoever in the U.S, but I think most have some
family or acquaintance that is there to help them. When a family member you are
more likely to be with them and the area they live in the first generation
immigrants did not need to get out of their comfort zone, but they proved if
they did then they would.

Based on the readings for this
week, I really think that the racial-genetic model is interesting. The fact
that someone’s health can be affected by their lineage is a pretty big deal.
Although I do not believe that race is the only factor that contributes to this.
Other factors such as socioeconomic status, behavior, and stress have to play a
big role because it is the current environment the person is living in, and
those are the issues that they face every day. These factors wear down people and it all depends
on how big the amount they are dealing with. Just because something may be in
your lineage, does not mean it cannot be prevented, health wise. Although, I
feel it is important to state that the racial-genetic model does not state that
every issue some has is due to lineage. It does cause an issue that there are
not many studies done that cn prove it due to the many factors that come into
play.

1 comment:

[Respondent] I'd like to add that first generation immigrants tend to gather in certain ways - usually by joining a community of people of similar identity. This may chance the way you see how people get out of the "comfort zone" you discussed.